The Cider House Rules and the texts presented personify and contextualize the abortion debate apart from the emotional rhetoric of both sides. The Atlantic article reveals that abortion, far from being a modern phenomenon, has been a staple of women’s medical practices since the eighteenth century, making Dr. Larch’s pro-abortion stance seem more within the American tradition. Maguire’s article on the Roman Catholic tradition on abortion and contraceptives reveal that Christianity has not been as singularly opposed to abortion as Homer originally was in the film and his change of mind toward the end may foreshadow the change in Christian doctrine in years to come. DeGrazia’s evidence that even some animals fit into the category of personhood